Blog Tour: Q&A, My Last Continent by Midge Raymond

Purchase |Goodreads 

As you know already, I have reviewed and adored My Last Continent by Midge Raymond. So for her blog tour: 

1) How were Deb and Keller born? I was thinking from Jack and Kate in Titanic. But these characters had more substance than an overprivileged girl and one underprivileged boy.
Deb was created when I wrote a short story called “The Ecstatic Cry” shortly after returning from my own visit to Antarctica. I was so in love with the continent and the penguins—and also worried about tourism, climate change, and other issues affecting Antarctica—and I channeled all this into the character of Deb. Of course, she’s not like me in that she’s a scientist and loves the cold—as a writer and native Californian, I’m quite opposite in these respects. I enjoyed developing her further as I began writing the novel, and I knew that for her to fall in love, it had to be with someone who is as passionate about Antarctica as she is. So this is where I began with Keller—figuring out what brought him there and why he felt such a strong a connection to the continent.

2) All the research that went into this…what actually entailed the research of this novel?
Much of my research was firsthand—from my visit to Antarctica and all that I learned while I was there, as well as a stint as a penguin researcher in Argentina, at the Punta Tombo colony in Chubut Province. However, I’ve never been to McMurdo and so I had to research what life is like at the station (through books, documentaries, and the U.S. Antarctic Program’s newspaper, The Antarctic Sun). And reading about the explorers also provided a wonderful sense of history as well as setting.

3) I loved your writing so much. Any strong influences to your style?
My writing background is in journalism, and so I love details. My photos and journals were a big source of inspiration for writing the novel. I love the austerity of writers like Ernest Hemingway and Amy Hempel, and they’ve both been big influences for me.

4) Because everyone reading this would want a standard published-author question: How did you get your agent? Had it been a tough process?
I feel very fortunate to have such a fantastic agent. I had no special connections or anything like that — I simply sent a query via her website. I think it’s wonderful that there are agents out there who are still open to reading everything, even if it’s a debut novel from an unknown writer.

5) You chose to leave your readers reeling from heartbreak after turning the final page. What influenced this decision? That same tragic ending of the Titanic? 
As readers know from the early pages of My Last Continent, the Australis does meet the same fate as the Titanic. I didn’t know, however, what would happen to the characters, and this was a process of discovery as I wrote the novel. And the ending actually changed a couple of times before I felt I got it right. I had a lot of tough decisions to make, but in the end I feel as though the story went where it was meant to go.

6) I was telling some friends on Instagram how much this book has not received the praise it deserves. And one of them suggested people are bound to make more fuss about a book if it’s the author’s debut and it’s this great. What do you think? (And by praise, I mean reader popularity on Goodreads.)
I certainly hope that readers enjoy the novel and share it with other readers! As an author, you have to accept what readers feel about your book because there’s nothing you can do about this aspect of it — all you can do is write the very best book you can. I’m grateful to all those who have embraced the book so far, and I hope it continues to find more and more readers.

7) Your book talks about strong themes. Global warming. Saving Antarctica. Women in science. What one, important lesson do you want readers to take from it?
Most of all, I hope readers enjoy the story. But I do also hope that it makes people think about the continent and how important it is that we protect it.

8) What are you working on next? And when is it due?
I’ve got a new novel in mind, but so far that’s exactly where it is — still in my head. I look forward to having more time later this year to start writing. I have no deadline, so I’ll need to come up with one to keep myself on track. 


MIDGE RAYMOND TOOK A TRIP TO ANTARCTICA, AND BELOW ARE THE LOVELY PENGUINS SHE FELL IN LOVE WITH:

MY LAST

CONTINENT

 MIDGE

RAYMOND

Published on 28th July 2016 by Text Publishing in TPB, priced at £10.99

‘Midge Raymond has an extraordinary gift for description that puts the reader bang in the middle of the action, bang in the middle of its dangerous and endangered world. She is clearly a writer in command of her craft.’  ML Stedman, author of The Light Between the Oceans

Blurb: It is only at the end of the world – among the glacier mountains and frigid waters of Antarctica – where Deb Gardner and Keller Sullivan feel at home. For the few blissful weeks they spend each year studying the habits of penguins, Deb and Keller can escape the frustrations and sorrows of their separate lives and find solace in each other. But Antarctica, like their fleeting romance, is tenuous, imperiled by the world to the north.

A new travel and research season has just begun, and Deb and Keller are ready to play tour guide to the passengers on the small expedition ship that ferries them to their research destination. Except that this year, Keller fails to appear on board. Shortly into the trip, Deb’s ship receives an emergency signal from the Australis, a cruise liner that has hit desperate trouble in the ice-choked waters. And among the crew of the sinking ship is Keller…

An unforgettable debut love story, set against the dramatic landscape of Antarctica. Lyrical, page-turning and emotionally intelligent, My Last Continent is a stunning novel of love and loss in one of the most remote places on earth.



About the Author:  Midge Raymond is an award-winning short-story writer who worked in publishing in New York before moving to Boston, where she taught creative writing. She has published two books for writers, Everyday Writing and Everyday Book Marketing. Midge lives in the Pacific Northwest, where she is co-founder of the boutique publisher Ashland Creek Press. My Last Continent is her first novel.

Summer Blog Tour and REVIEW: I Followed The Rules by Joanna Bolouri

PURCHASE|GOODREADS

MY SYNOPSIS

Imagine This: You are thriving as a journalist being a single-mum to your adorable daughter of ten. You’ve been single since you dumped your boyfriend—that’s a long time. And that’s fine, really. Who needs a man when you can have sex?

Except you haven’t had sex in a long time.

Now your column in an online magazine is funny and loved by most of your audience who are not leaving shitty comments about your sense of humour being as boring as your writing. Except when these comments are increasing by the day, you are beginning to get worried. And your editor is beginning to get worried about laying you off. Not that she’d care that much, she could replace you with someone funnier (fresh and younger, but no one’s adding that).

You are forced to base your column on a new dating book which every woman considers a dating bible. But according to you it’s actually shit, and sexist and against all feminist principles. How can you not ask a guy out? How can you not be funnier than a guy on a date? How can you not have sex till it’s the fifth date? How are you always supposed to let the man lead?

But your editor wants you following these rules soon and fast and writing on them every week. Because if you do not you should say bye to the job of your dreams, a regular income and lots of time to fit around your daughter.

Before you know it, you are following these rules to the letter; walking all over Glasgow to get asked out by a man, being less funny on dates, laughing at all his unfunny jokes, never swearing, being called sweet by these guys. Sweet! Sweet?!

Then a chance encounter with the writer of this book you’ve been slagging on your blog complicates everything.

Catriona’s funny, complicated, dating-hellish life summarised for your delight.

MY REVIEW

Joanna Bolouri has done it again! Go buy this book or don’t ever return for book recommendations (ever!)

Amazing storyline! After penning a debut such as hers. A debut which should just be your fifth book. The pressure to deliver a stunning book to assure your success wasn’t a one-time-lucky-thing is high. Yet, Joanna Bolouri doesn’t disappoint in her novel. A star to the storyline.── ★

Another character to love! I loved, loved, loved Catriona! Her voice is fresh, funny, sarcastic, witty. She’s all you need from an entertaining lead! You’d love her for her bluntness. Her tendency to cuss a lot! Her amazingly wonderful motherhood skills. Hell, another character by Bolouri I would want to have brunch with! A star.── ★★

Other characters make this book kicking too. There’s Kierran, the funny friend who’s quite sure men who play golf are not right for her friend. There’s Rose, the play-date mother who’s always lonely and offering to meet up. There’s Helen, the sister who’s always forcing Cat to sit through dates with weirdoes and would club anyone who insults Michael Bublé, because he’s a fucking god! There’s Peter, the annoying ex you’d love to hate! There’s also Guy Wright the writer of the Dating Book who infuriates our lead. You’d also love Dylan, the adorable one-night-shag and Grace, daughter who’d just make you want to get yourself knocked up and say, To hell with men, I have my adorable, witty, smart daughter. These characters and more(!!) are amazing and not redundant in anyway. A star.── ★★★

This book is fast-paced! You wouldn’t be able to put it down. I read it all in a day (that’s even because I am a slow reader!). The only time you put it down would be when you realize you need to change out of your underwear—because the chemistry of the lead characters is so electrifying!── ★★★★

It’s funny. I assure you, there’s no paragraph that wouldn’t get you grinning or cackling with laughter. Even if there’s one, you’d find yourself thinking back to the jokes that made you laugh so hard then you’d be laughing again. A star.── ★★★★★

My rating: Five out of five stars!

Get this book on amazon, people! And get her debut too if you’ve not read it—just because it appeared on all the good lists on this blog!

I recommend this book to anyone who wants a lead they would adore! Anyone who wants an actual Laugh-out-loud book (—you know, most books tagged this way are not really, but this is different!). Anyone who wants another title from Bolouri as shedoesn’t disappoint! The perfect beach read.

My work not done here. Off to post my review on Goodreads and amazon.

Blog Tour: His Other Life by Beth Thomas

MY SYNOPSIS

Imagine This: You are in perfect bliss. Married to the most adorable guy for over a year. Everyone looks at you two, and think, he’s too perfect for you. Even your family. That one day he might just pack up and leave. But you doubt that. Because of all the women he could pick, he picked you.

So perhaps not all things are going smoothly. But, really, which marriage ever does? What if he’s a tad bit too secretive? And he wouldn’t let you to go through the mail, the bills, and even his unlocked wardrobe.

Then one day, over an Indian-Takeout errand, he never returns.

Police Interrogation makes you aware you never knew anything about him. One moment, you are sad and angry he might have taken off. Then another, you are so worried something terrible might have happened to him and he didn’t run off at all.

Then you stumble upon his Pandora box of secrets, and your life would never be the same again. Who the hell were you calling your husband?

MY REVIEW

Great storyline. I loved the whole Girl gets married to a guy and for over a year he’s too secretive she doesn’t know anything about his past and even his present, Girl thinks she’s landed a gold mine when she doesn’t even really know who her husband is. The blurb and the opening pages piques your curiosity. Brill.── ★

Is Grace someone you could relate to? Well, I do wonder which woman would stay married to a man who doesn’t even allow her peep into his closet, or find out why his mum is such a loose cannon, or why he’d never allow her into his past. I’m sure shit like that does happen sometimes, the world is a big and strange enough place for such occurrences. But I really do wish Grace made much of an effort sometimes and just found out a lot about the man she wanted to spend her life with. If not for her, then for the police if in case, he commits a crime and they need some background information. Though her lack of knowledge into the past sets the background for the story and makes many a curious reader.── ★★

Other characters in this book were great. I loved Ginger, the friend who was always around to get our lead pissed whenever she needed some comfort. I loved Linda, the police handling the investigations who really thought our lead could be a suspect from her unusual reactions to the police’s findings. I loved Melissa, the psychic who looks into the other world for clues where missing people might be. Adam, the husband who’s secretiveness gave his character some form of intrigue.── ★★★

I liked this book. But I really wished I could love, love it. Too many anti-climaxes in lots of pages that you wondered if the book was going anywhere at all. One minute you are on the edge of your seat, then you are not anymore because Police’s findings have been proved wrong. Until the last, about, hundred pages do you begin to discover some really intriguing info to keep you on the edge of your seat till the end. It could have been more fast-paced.

My rating: 3.5 stars/five.

Beth Thomas’ latest is available on amazon.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves some mystery laced with their chick-lit.

My work not done here. Off to post my review on Goodreads.

Blog Tour: 'As Good As It Gets?' by Fiona Gibson

MY SYNOPSIS

Imagine This: You are now a mum of two. With your sometimes adorable, most times cold husband gainfully employed in your unkempt (referred as that by your neighbours) garden, planting, uprooting and mowing moodily early in the mornings. Your job as the publicist of a crisp company might not be bringing the big bucks in, but it’s sure putting food on the table, stacking your cabinets with rejected crisps and preventing you guys from taking a much-needed family holiday (thanks to the non-holiday permissible wages).

If only your hormonal teenage children would value what you offer and not stalk off right into their rooms when you ask them about their day. If only your husband would value you enough not to flinch when you touch him intimately in bed.

New neighbours come in. Your daughter’s curiosity sinks in——she wants to meet her real dad. The dad who run off right when you got pregnant and was so cowardly he let his mother write a letter to ditch you on his behalf.

You have suspicions your husband has a thing for the woman who’s just moved in with her family. An email from your ex drops in to shatter your world. But of course, your husband might be secretly nursing a crush on the new neighbour next door. And that is justification enough for you to reply your ex’s email after months of wondering what might have been. Then more emails come in.

Charlotte’s life summed up for your delight.

MY REVIEW

I was reading this book in a very public place on campus where students settle among trees, lawns and ringed benches to mostly embark on their romantic objectives for the semester. A guy walked up to my bench to start a conversation about a writing programme he was chairing ‘since he saw I was interested in books’. He said to me, “As Good As It Gets, what a funny title.” I glared daggers at him after he was done with his message. I certainly will not be going for his writing programme knowing he clearly hasn’t heard of chick-lit. (Oh, and before you judge he said it in a snobbish, deprecating way. As though he could teach me how to make better, boring titles.)

I liked this book.

The storyline isn’t fresh. But of course, penned with Fiona Gibson’s wit, intact comparisons and humour, it’s not hard for fans of Fiona to warm up to this. Girl is facing glitches in her married life. Girl is undergoing the stress of being a model mum. Girl is trying so hard to keep her family financially stable. Girl wonders if her husband might be having inappropriate thoughts about the saucy neighbour next door. Girl keeps wondering if her life would have been more perfect if her ex had stuck with her.── ★

Charlotte is a character to fall in love with. She’s what most mums out there call relatable. With her tendency to focus too much on details, her amazement at how her sex-life has petered out, her constant resolution to get out running and lose some weight, her appropriate comparisons of situations of parenting, middle-life, her lack of a sex life, to others you could nod your head to and just agree.── ★★

You would so love Ollie, Charlotte’s adorable son who loves to chat science and make light of every situation. You would love Sabrina, the saucy new neighbour who loves to give away sex tips for the middle-aged lacking a sex life. You would love Gloria, the mother-in-law always a phone away suggesting ridiculous job offers for her son.

Some ridiculous and gasping situations at work, home, and her daughter’s modelling agency, a few OMG moments, and a curiosity to find out what happens at the end, keep the reader absorbed in the tale.── ★★★

I enjoyed this book. But yet last year I wrote a glowing review of Fiona Gibson’s Take Mom Out because it was absolutely amazing (every centimetre of it!). This book falls short of the glory of her previous work. If it was pacey enough, it would have been marvellous like how Take Mom Out (which was highly pacey) had been.── ★★★★

So my rating: 3.5 stars.

Fiona Gibson’s latest could be purchased on amazon.

I recommend this book to any woman out there wondering what might have been if the love of their lives had remained or not, any woman wondering how she’d cope when her children stop doing stuff with her and turn grumpy or not, any woman who loves their chick-lit centred on relatable characters in relatable life situations. And just anybody who needs something not lacking in warmth, humour and depth.

My work not done here. Off to post my review on Goodreads.

Blog Tour: Twin Piques by Tracie Banister

The lovely Tracie Banister (best-selling author of In Need of Therapy) is releasing yet another (from the looks of it) exciting title. Tracie is one of the pioneer chick-lit authors I reviewed on this blog, so, hell, yes, I am happy to be part of this tour announcing her latest release:

Blurb

Forensic accountant Sloane Tobin and kooky pet psychic Willa may have the same face, but that’s the only thing these identical twins have in common.

How she can read the hearts and minds of animals has always been a mystery to Willa, and her rotten luck with men is equally baffling. Although she’s been looking for “The One” for what feels like forever (A teenage marriage to a French mime and dating a guy named Spider seemed like good ideas at the time!), optimistic Willa refuses to give up on love. When she meets Brody, the handsome rose expert hired to save her grandmother’s garden, she’s instantly smitten, but why does he keep sending her mixed signals? Does he return her feelings, or is their attraction all in her fanciful head?

Unlike her twin, Sloane has zero interest in romance. Her passion is her job, where she uses her gift for numbers to take down slimy embezzlers and asset-hiding spouses. When she’s assigned two high profile cases, Sloane feels confident the promotion she’s been angling for is within her grasp. But will her plan to climb the corporate ladder be thwarted by difficult clients, her co-worker-with-benefits, or – most surprisingly of all – her own sister? And how’s she supposed to stay focused on the drama at work when her childhood friend, Gav, moves in next door and the spark between them becomes impossible to ignore?

To get what they both want, can Willa and Sloane band together and rely on each other’s strengths? Or will their differences drive them apart once and for all?

Author Bio

An avid reader and writer, Tracie Banister has been scribbling stories since she was a child, most of them featuring feisty heroines with complicated love lives like her favorite fictional protagonist Scarlett O'Hara. Her work was first seen on the stage of her elementary school, where her 4th grade class performed an original holiday play that she penned. (Like all good divas-in-the-making, she also starred in and tried to direct the production.)

Tracie’s dreams of authorial success were put on the backburner when she reached adulthood and discovered that she needed a "real" job in order to pay her bills. Her career as personal assistant to a local entrepreneur lasted for 12 years. When it ended, she decided to follow her bliss and dedicate herself to writing full-time. Twin Piques is her third Chick Lit release. The pet psychic character in this novel was inspired by Tracie’s rascally rescue dogs. She’d love to know what goes on in their heads!

Buy Twin Piques: (Amazon)

Social Networking Links

Blog:  http://traciebanister.blogspot.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/tracie.banister

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/traciebanister

Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/tlbani

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5448518.Tracie_Banister 

Blog Tour+Review : Christmas At The Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan

Christmas at the Cupcake Café

Cupcake Café  # 2

By: Jenny Colgan

Releasing October 14^th, 2014

William Morrow

Blurb

Issy Randall, proud owner of The Cupcake Cafe, is in love and couldn’t be happier. Her new business is thriving and she is surrounded by close friends, even if her cupcake colleagues Pearl and Caroline don’t seem quite as upbeat about the upcoming season of snow and merriment. But when her boyfriend Austin is scouted for a possible move to New York, Issy is forced to face up to the prospect of a long-distance romance. And when the Christmas rush at the cafe - with its increased demand for her delectable creations - begins to take its toll, Issy has to decide what she holds most dear.

This December, Issy will have to rely on all her reserves of courage, good nature and cinnamon, to make sure everyone has a merry Christmas, one way or another. . .

Indulge yourself and your sweet-toothed friends with Jenny Colgan’s new novel, simply bursting with Christmas cupcake recipes and seasonal sugar-fuelled fun.

 Link to Follow Tour:  http://www.tastybooktours.com/2014/09/christmas-at-cupcake-cafe-cupcake-cafe.html

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13596423-christmas-at-the-cupcake-caf?ac=1

Buy Links

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-at-Cupcake-Cafe-Novel-ebook/dp/B00K53EH56/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1410452461

B&N:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/christmas-at-the-cupcake-cafe-jenny-colgan/1113460040?ean=9780062371188

iTunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/christmas-at-the-cupcake-cafe/id524415333?mt=11

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/christmas-at-the-cupcake-cafe-1/zhaR2ygNd0ie4dITpEBkPA

MY SYNOPSIS

Imagine this: You own a café. A café you’ve worked throughout the year to stabilize. You have the perfect boyfriend with a not-so-perfect/too-eco-conscious little brother who doesn’t deter you from loving him so. You’ve built a network of friends who find solace in your café working to earn a living and dreading Christmas is around the corner.

You cannot wait for Christmas to get by. It would be an amazing time of the year for you since for once you have a perfect life (career-wise, relationship-wise and almost family-wise), never mind your adorable boyfriend hasn’t yet proposed but everyone is sure he would pop the question in the season.

Until New York steals him away. Obviously with his question too.

Long-distance might be a hefty task, but you and your boyfriend would pull it off with the grace you exhibit in your kitchen baking the finest cupcakes.

But what if you are not thinking of the future? What if you are not thinking one of you would have to make a big, career compromise to be with each other? What if you are not thinking you would love New York so but not with your boyfriend in it? What if you want your relationship, but with your cupcake café as well? And what if your boyfriend might just have a cupcake girl fetish and might swap you for the first inorganic, industrial, thin and pretty hot cupcake girl New York offers him?

Issy’s dilemma summed up for your delight.

My Review

You know, can anyone ever go wrong with a book filled with cupcake recipes to the max? Yes. They can. But not Jenny Colgan. She demonstrates that not only a baking heroine who shares off recipes and gives a step-by-step instruction manual on how to make each cupcake is enough to win the hearts of all readers (because who doesn’t bake? Because who hasn’t let go watching their weight this festive season? Because who doesn’t adore cupcakes). But with a great storyline to match, how exactly could anyone return their book and demand a refund? A star to the storyline.──★

I loved Issy. So many of you women would relate to her because who doesn’t like a café manager who gives out all their recipes? You would love her for her insatiable need to make everyone around her happy with just the right cupcake for the right mood. You would be rooting for her as she finds it hard not to fall in love with New York even when she’s taking away her boyfriend (because who doesn’t want to be a secret New Yorker at heart?). Her motherly voice is refreshing and her ability to make everything just right would be admired by the reader.──★★

You would also find the other characters interesting. Especially her employees at the cupcake café with their very complicated lives praying for just another Christmas miracle just as Issy is. From  Pearl, the assistant manager who has the most adorable son and dealing with his father who isn’t all too adorable. Caroline, she’s got too much snark in her to light up the café and piss everyone off in the process, going through a divorce and trying to keep a sane head at the same time. Helena, the best friend who’s too occupied with her very obnoxious daughter who is all she seems to talk about when Issy makes an appearance. Issy’s mum who spends her time travelling the world to finding herself enough to bother about her daughter and changing her name frequently to suit every religion she’s taken up. Darny, the too-eco-conscious brother of Austin, Issy’s boyfriend who poses way too much trouble. So much more characters I loved I cannot mention, because I am afraid this review would burst at its seams.──★★★

This book had a very romantic-comedy-like ending that gives you just the right amount of chest-expansion after finishing it. Though very predictable, you would wish you could finish this book at a sitting if the main character wasn’t always insisting you needed to get your Christmas baking over and done with.──★★★★

My rating: Four-point-five stars.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves their seasonal reads with just the right touch of romance and comedy. Anyone who loves their chick-lit character giving away recipes evenvthey consider as very secretive. Anyone who loves anything with enough warmth to last them through this hectic festive season. And anyone who just loves to stop, munch on a cupcake and relax because there are lots of cupcakes in this title.

My work not done here. Off to post my review on Goodreads. 

Author Info

Jenny Colgan is the author of numerous bestselling novels, including Christmas at the Cupcake Café and The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris, which are also published by Sphere. Meet Me at the Cupcake Café won the 2012 Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance and was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller, as was Welcome to Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop of Dreams, which won the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Award 2013. Jenny is married with three children and lives in London and France.

Author Links

Website:  http://www.jennycolgan.com/
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/jennycolganbooks
Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/JennyColgan
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/39272.Jenny_Colgan

Rafflecopter Giveaway (2 e-copies ofCHRISTMAS AT THE CUPCAKE CAFE)

Guest Post/Blog Tour: Guardian For Hire by Christine Bell

Title: Guardian for Hire
Genre: Romance
Author: Christine Bell
Publisher: Entangled Indulgence
Pages: 149
Language: English
Format: Ebook

Sarabeth Lucking's life is turned upside down when the couples’ retreat she works for winds up embroiled in the biggest scandal of the year. With her reputation in tatters, she can’t imagine things getting worse, until her former co-workers are rubbed out, and a bad-ass, ex-Army Ranger shows up hell-bent on protecting her. She shows him the door, perfectly content with letting him go find someone else to brood over. Right up until her car explodes into a ball of flames...

Gavin McClintock grew up on the streets of Edinburgh, so protecting Dr. Stick-Up-Her-Rear isn't on his bucket list. Still, a promise is a promise, and, after her brush with death, he’s going to do whatever it takes to keep Sarabeth safe. When she finally gives in and shreds her librarian-in-mourning look in favor of a sex kitten, the revealing clothes and sexy new hairdo unleash the spitfire she’s been hiding beneath that shell of propriety.

Maybe the doc isn’t the only one in need of protection…

PURCHASE AT AMAZON

Thanks for having me today to celebrate the release of Guardian for Hire!

Today, I thought I could talk a little about what makes us fall in love with a fictional character. It sounds crazy, but it happens. You know the feeling, when you wish that hot, special ops hero could climb right off the page and move in with you, or that funny sidekick friend was real so you could have drinks and do karaoke together.

Books are funny like that, because regardless of genre, it’s the characters that matter most. If I fall in love with the characters, nothing else matters. I’ll follow them down a mine shaft, or to another planet or to Regency era London, or to a dystopian future. Because I’m invested. I care about them and their story. I think the best authors make us do that through voice. I’m a sucker for humor, but if I really think on it, that’s just a small piece of it. More important? Things that make them relatable. Do they have a little stutter when they get stressed out? Will they only eat if none of their food touches on the plate? Do they have a weird ritual they do before they leave for school every morning, like jumping off the front step and hitting the wind chimes with their fingertips? People are weird. We do weird stuff all the time. If characters aren’t a little weird too, readers can’t relate.

 Another thing I think that makes me love a character is if they are vulnerable and flawed in some way. If not, it’s hard to connect. Readers want to see themselves on the page, and know that their hero or heroine has been through strife, is a wide open nerve for the author to poke and prod. Sounds sadistic, right? But without it, who cares. I mean, that’s the investment, right? Without falling into a crevice due to hiking-hubris, there IS no sawing off of the proverbial arm. And without the sawing off of the proverbial arm, where is the “HELL YEAH!” The fist pump along with that good, juicy feeling payoff of seeing someone climb out of that hole, overcoming the odds? Where’s our Rocky or our Big Mike from the Blind Side? In order to celebrate the victory, we have to witness the suffering too, and that requires our protagonist to be vulnerable.

 I’m weird. And I’m vulnerable. And I’m flawed. So, like, whenever I draw a picture or doodle of something like a snowman, I always draw two so that when I close the notebook, there’s not just the one left there all lonely. Frigging weird, right?  And my kryptonite would be maggots. Show me maggots and I will tell you ANYTHING you want to know. As for flaws, I have a ton. I think my least favorite one is that I love to argue. Seriously, even if I don’t believe what I’m arguing about, I STILL have the intense urge to debate about it. It’s not cute, but it’s me.

About Christine Bell

Christine Bell is a USA Bestselling Author of contemporary romance novels and one half of the happiest couple in the world. She and her handsome hubby currently reside in Pennsylvania with a four-pack of teenage boys and their two dogs, Gimli and Pug. If she gets time off from her duties as maid, chef, chauffeur, or therapist, she can be found reading just about anything she can get her hands on, from Young Adult novels to books on poker theory. She doesn’t like root beer, clowns or bugs (except ladybugs, on account of their cute outfits), but lurrves chocolate, going to the movies, the New York Giants and playing Texas Hold ‘Em. Writing is her passion, but if she had to pick another occupation, she would be a pirate…or, like, a ninja maybe. She loves writing fun, sexy romances, but also hopes to one day publish something her dad can read without wanting to dig his eyes out with rusty spoons. Christine loves to hear from readers, so please feel free to get in touch with her via the Contact Page, or find her on Twitter @_ChristineBell.

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